Snakes and Ladders
by Tash Salvatore
Summary: This fan fic takes place after Callum gets hanged and Sephy gets given the letter by Jack. But what letter did Jack give her....?
1. Part one

Chapter One

Sephy

I couldn't believe that Callum was gone. I told him I loved him right before he got hanged. He tried to say it back but then that basted pulled the lever. All I saw was Callum's body, dangling like a puppet on a string. The bag that was over his head his expression but no bag his mine. I was crying my eyes out. I couldn't see very much but I knew the Crosses where giving me dirty looks. Did they expect me to feel no pain? To hate Callum? To hate all Nougats'?

"Sephy, you should come home," Minerva told me as she put her hand on my shoulder.

I shrugged it off and kept crying. I tried not to look at Callum's lifeless body but I couldn't. He was just there. I knew he would have been crying in his last moments or at least I think so.

"Persephone, it was for the best. The blank-" I cut my mother off my saying, "The father of your grandchild is dead and all you can say is that it was for the best! How dare you!"

A prison officer then walked up to me. The prison officer was male and a Cross. His expression looked sad as if he cared about Callum. I hope he cared about Callum.

"Are you Sephy?" He asked me.

"Yeah, I'm Sephy. Who are you?"

"I'm Jack. Callum's friend. He told me that he loved you and your child. Callum also gave me a letter to give you," Jack handed over a white envelope with _Sephy_ written on the front. "I'm sorry about Callum and I know he was innocent."

"Thank you. If you were Callum's friend then can I ask something?"

"Of course."

"When my baby is born I want you to come and see her so you can tell her about Callum."

"Why?"

"I don't know what Callum did before he died and I want someone other than me to tell my baby that he was innocent."

"I understand. You are welcome to call me anytime," He said and handed me his phone number on a business card.

I took he card and Jack slowly disappeared into the crowd. The crowd then started to exit, even my mother and sister left. I was almost alone in the courtyard of death so I sat down on a chair. Opened the letter and read it.

_Dear Sephy,_

_ I love you. That's the only three words that come close to describe my feelings for you. It would take me five hundred years to explain how much I love you. But as you can guess, my time is short. I don't want to die but it's either our baby or me. I'm glad I am going to die and our baby will live. If they baby is a boy please call him Ryan, after my dad. And if it's a girl you can call her Callie Rose. I really want it to be a boy. I want him to be athletic and smart. Caring but strong headed. I want so much for our baby and it saddens me to think that I won't see it but I'm glad you will. _

_ Before I die Sephy I want you to know. When I was in the L.M I was dead inside. Stone cold dead. I killed Crosses and felt no regret. But the one night we spent together I felt alive. You made me feel like myself. You made all my emotions come out. It was as if you made my heart beat again. I missed you but I didn't know how much I missed you. I love you Sephy. I love you. I love you. I love you. And no one can ever change that._

_Love_

_Yours forever_

_ All my heart,_

_ Callum_

The letter suddenly became wet. I looked at the sky but it wasn't raining. I touched my cheek and it was soaked with my tears. I was on my own and it seemed tears were all I had left. I also had a baby but why should this baby live and Callum die? What made that right? Then again, nothing in this word is right. Nothing.

Chapter Two

Jack

I was so glad I gave Sephy Callum's original letter. If I gave her the one he wanted to give her I don't think she would have coped. I loved Callum like a brother but the letter he wanted me to give to her was just wrong. If anyone gave me the letter he wrote her, I don't think I would be able to contain my depression. I know I shouldn't've read the letter but Callum should have never written it. Some of the things in that letter still haunt me.

_As for the sex – well, you were available and I had nothing better to do_, ran through my mind every time I thought about his baby.

_As if I could love someone like you a – a cross and worse than that, the daughter of one of our worst enemies, _was the line I thought about when I begin to think about the love Callum and Sephy shared.

_To think I actually kissed you, licked you, touched you, joined my body with yours, _I just thought about that line randomly but that didn't make it any less chilling.

_I had to think of my other lovers the entire time to stop myself from pulling away from you in disgust, _that's the line I realized that Callum didn't mean a word of it because he had no other lovers. It had always been Sephy.

_I've already forgotten about you__, _he never forgot about Sephy and I knew his last thoughts were of her. I just knew it.


	2. part two

Chapter four

Sephy

Every night I dream of him and only him. I dream of how he looked at me and how he made me feel. How he said he loved me and promised to never let me go. It was the perfect dream but every dream I had of him ended in tragedy. It always ended with his lifeless body hanging from that bloody rope. I saw how his body swung from side to side ever so slightly. When I woke up there was an ache in my chest but I then touched the bump where my baby was and I felt better. Touching the bump always made me feel better.

I looked around my room and let out a long sigh. I couldn't believe that I'd agreed to come back here. It was funny how I considered my old home as "Here". It was as if I hated it here, which I did but only slightly.

"Sephy?" Minerva asked which was followed by a light knock. "Can I come in?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"No, not really," Minerva answered and creaked my door open.

I didn't like Minerva that much but she still hung around like a bad smell. It was nice that she cared but I wish I could just be left alone so I could grieve in peace. Minerva then opened the door fully and entered my room. She was wearing a tight fitting shirt with a gladiator belt and black leggings. The only comment I could make on her outfit was "Skinny bitch". I know I sound like a cow but when you're the size of one you just want snap supermodels in two. Minerva comes under the category of supermodel skinny.

"What d'you want?" I asked before Minerva could sit on the end of my bed.

"I wanted to see if you were alright," Minerva said, standing at the end of my bed.

"Why wouldn't I be fine?"

"You were calling out for Callum in your sleep so I thought you were having a nightmare about…what happened…" Minerva's face went red with embarrassment.

"I'll tell you one more time. Callum did _not _rape me."

Minerva looked at me and I saw the defeat in her eyes. Minerva could always see battle's she was going to lose. Lucky her. If only I could know a lost cause when I see one or the battles that I'm going to lose. I felt tired and defeated but I could feel something bad was coming. Something that meant trouble for my baby and me. No one was ever going to hurt my baby. No one.

Chapter Five

Jack

I lay in my bed. Bored shitless. What did I have to look forward to? Another day of letting Callum's letter run through my head? Or was I going to burn the letter like I intended in the first place? I looked at my bed side table and I knew I wouldn't burn it. I wanted to burn it more than anything but I couldn't. I just couldn't. Maybe I should read it one more time and then I might be able to burn it. I picked it up and put on my reading glasses on.

_Sephy,_

_I'm writing this to you because I want you to know the way things really are. I don't want you to spend the rest of your life believing a lie._

_I don't love you. I never did. You were just an assignment to me. A way for all of us in my cell of the liberation militia to get money - a lot of money from your dad. As for the sex – well, you were available and I had nothing better to do. You should have seen yourself, lapping up every word of that nonsense I spouted about loving you and living only for you and being too scared to say it before. I don't know how I stopped myself from laughing out loud as you bought all that rubbish. As if I could love someone like you a – a cross and worse than that, the daughter of one of our worst enemies. Having sex with you was just my way of getting back at your dad for being a bastard and your mum for looking down her nose at me all those years. And now you're pregnant._

_Well, I'm ecstatic. Now the whole world will know you're having my child, the child of a blanker. That if nothing else is worth dying for. Whether you come to my hanging or not, I'm going to announce to the world that you're having __my__ child. MINE. Even if you do get rid of our child, everyone will still know._

_But no one will know how much I despise you. I loathe the very thought of you and now when I think about all the things we did when we were alone in the cabin, I feel physically sick. To think I actually kissed you, licked you, touched you, joined my body with yours. I had to think of my other lovers the entire time to stop myself from pulling away from you in disgust. God knows, I'm disgusted with myself but the object of the exercise was your total humiliation – and at least I can console myself with the knowledge that that's what I've achieved. Did you really in your wildest dreams believe that I could love someone like you? You've got more ego than any fifty people I know. And you've got absolutely nothing to be egotistical about._

_I've told Jack to deliver this to you only if and when you have our child. I can imagine your face now as you read this and at least that gives me comfort as I wait to die. Once you've had our child and you've read this, no doubt you'll hate me just as much as I hate you. But just remember, I had you first. Go ahead and try and forget about me. And while you're forgetting, you can do something else. Never tell our child about me. I don't want him or her to know who I am or how I died or anything about me. I don't want you to mention my name ever again. That shouldn't be too hard after all the things I've told you in this letter. All the true things. You're probably so conceited that you're telling yourself what I' saying isn't true. That I'm only saying this so you'll move on with your life, but I never for a second doubted you'd do that anyway._

_I won't tell you to take care of yourself. You're a cross who was born with a jewel-encrusted, platinum spoon in your mouth and even if you don't take care of yourself, others will do it for you._

_Forget about me._

_I've already forgotten about you._

_Callum__._

Every time I read that letter I think "Callum you basterd". He didn't mean one word of it though. But that didn't stop every word being like a dagger and the letter wasn't even meant for me. I can't believe he wanted to send it to Sephy. I can't believe anyone would want to send a letter like that. I just wish I knew why Callum wanted to send that letter to Sephy. But if the reason was worse than letter then I didn't want to know.


	3. Part three

Chapter Five

Sephy

I went down to my private beech today but it felt different. It felt cold, hopeless and dead. Just Like Callum. Why did almost everything lead to Callum? Why couldn't I stop thinking about him? I know I loved him but I need to move on. It's what Callum would've wanted, right?

"You miss Callum?" A voice asked from behind me.

I was stunned because I thought I was here alone. I turned around to see a nought man who was about my age.

"Yeah, I do but who the hell are you?" I asked, still sitting on the sand.

"Me?" He said putting his hand on his chest. "I'm Blake Poultice but that's not important."

Blake walked over to me and sat down. He offered his hand so I shaked it politely.

"So, when is your baby due?" Blake asked with a friendly smile on his face.

"I think it's three months away but who's counting?"

"All of Britain."

"More importantly, why are you on my family's beech?"

"It's a free country or does that only count as crosses 'cause if I does I can leave," Blake told me pointing his right thumb behind him.

"No, you don't have to leave."

"When was the last time you talked to someone you actually liked?"

"Umm…probably before Callum got taken away from me."

"Yeah, Callum was a great guy," Blake said staring at the sea.

"How do you know Callum?" I asked cautiously.

"He was my next door neighbour before his house got, you know, burnt down."

I tucked my knees as close to my chest as possible and wrapped my arms around them.

"So what brings you here to this beech?" I asked.

"Callum said this place was real nice so I thought I'd check it out to see if he was right. And like most things, he was right about this beech."

"He was smart so I'm not surprised."

"Do you like talking to people?"

Blake had asked me the weirdest question ever. But then I took a second to think and it clicked. How many people had I talked to in my whole life? Not many.

"I like talking but…" I said, trying to think of why I didn't talk to many people.

"But people don't understand you?" Blake suggested.

"Yeah, that's pretty much it."

"I know where you're coming from."

"How?"

"My mum and dad homeschooled me so I didn't talk to many kids. I was beaten up by a bunch of crosses when I was fifteen because I asked a cross girl for directions. I hate going into clubs because I don't like crowds and I don't like many noughts."

"Why?"

"Because they're all hell-bent on getting one over on the crosses," Blake said and took a quick look at me. "No offense."

"None taken."

When Blake looked at me I felt like he forgot my skin colour and saw whom the real Persephone Hadley was.

"You know something, I think that you should be loved instead of hated," Blake said from out of the blue.

"Why?"

"Because you have just had a friendly conversation with me without saying one mean comment and you answered everything I asked you truthfully," Blake said with a victorious smile.

"How do you know I was telling the truth?" I asked with a mischievous smile.

"The look in your eyes were as genuine as they come and I like trusting people," Blake said and smiled.

He then looked at his watch and back at me.

"Will you be here tomorrow?" Blake asked which made me feel better.

"Yeah."

"I'll see you then," Blake said and got up.

He walked away slowly as if he was taking in the whole beech. He seemed like a nice guy. I liked him and even though I had only had one conversation with him I felt like he was my only friend in the world. And to honest I could use a friend right now.

Chapter Six

Blake

I walked home slowly. Debating with myself because part of me wanted me to go back and talk to Sephy but something else told me no. One conversation and I already want to talk to her after I've left to go home. She seemed like my friend but I've presumed that people were my friends before but that ended with me in the hospital. But Sephy had no one and neither did I. We seemed like we would make good friends but I keep wondering why I talked to her in the first place.

Callum had told me about the beech so I went there, thinking I would be alone but then Sephy was there. She looked so alone, so helpless and lost just like I was. I knew it was Sephy on the beech because she was pregnant and it was her family's private beech so it had to be her unless her sister, Minerva, got knocked up. I had questions for Sephy because every conversation starts with a question. I thought asking about Callum would help her and me but mostly her. I could tell she was lonely and just wanted Callum back so reminiscing seemed good.

I was close to my house, which made me look at where Callum's house once was. His house used to be nice but now it was just rubble and ash. I remember the night when his house was set on fire. I was in my room listening to music when I saw the orange flames from out my window. I thought I was imagining it but people's "Oh my God"'s told me it was real. I had a mini heart attack when I thought about the fact that Callum's family could have been in there.

I opened my front door, walked in and closed it behind me. I walked into my living room and sat down on the couch. I made a sight that almost woke my lazy brother, Drew, who was sleeping on the couch. Drew was a year older that me but he was an arsewhole. He got sent to school and I didn't. It was unfair but Drew is "the golden child" and I was "the accident". Drew is the apple of my parents' eyes and I'm just a sour lemon.

"Where did you go out to this time, brother?" Kyle, my other and older brother, asked as he walked into the room.

"I went to the beech," I told him and made room on the couch so he could sit down as well.

I liked Kyle better than Drew because he got treated just like me. He got homeschooled with me but we weren't friends. He was my older brother so we were never going to get on but it would have been nice.

"Wake up," Kyle said and hit Drew's torso.

Drew looked like a rabbit caught in a headlight when he opened his eyes. He instantly sat up and gave Kyle room to sit down because if he didn't Kyle would have sat on him and believe me, it's happened before. Kyle sat down and some how he got the TV remote. He turned on the telly and the news was on. It was always the news.

"…._Kamal Hadley's daughter, Persephone Hadley, is pregnant with the baby of the nought terrorist and rapist, Callum McGregor. There have been no reports on how Persephone is handling this ordeal but we hope to get some information soon. In other news…" _the female news reporter said sounding more like a gossip column in a newspaper.

I felt sorry for Sephy because the whole world was being so condescending. It didn't bother me about what the news about Sephy before I talked to her but now I took it as a personal insult.

"Why can't they leave that girl alone?" I asked aloud and instantly regretting it.

"She's just another dagger," Drew said.

"That Persephone Hadley is just a cross airhead who only cares about herself," Kyle said.

"Close minded idiots," I said under my breath but I knew Kyle heard me.

"And why do you care what the world thinks of Persephone Hadley?" Kyle asked and gave me an aggressive look.

"Well she might be a nice person and she might actually care about something other than herself," I told him with a feeling of power behind every word I said.

"She's just another dagger," Drew said with the kind of voice that meant the discussion was over.

I instantly decided to go to bed. I got up off the couch and went up the stairs to my bedroom. I shared a room with Kyle but we had separated the room with a curtain that went right down the middle. Just because we lived in the same room didn't mean we had to look at each other. I went to my side of the room and crawled into bed with my cloths on. Was Sephy thinking about me? Why should she? She had just lost Callum so how could I even think she would spare a thought for me. But what if she was sparing many thoughts for me. What if she was thinking about tommorow and seeing me at the beech. We hadn't said a time but that didn't matter. I couldn't wait. I finally had someone who could be my friend. Finally.


End file.
